Chapter 992: with translation of chapter title

"You..." Yan Xirou supported the swaying Han Wuxian, a rare flash of panic crossing her eyes.

"It's fine..." Han Wuxian gritted his teeth, tore off his sleeve, revealing the spreading black toxin lines, "I won't die for now."

The tomb guard's remains finally stopped moving, the stone chamber returned to silence. Yan Xirou quickly took out a jade bottle from her bosom, poured out two green pills: "Take this first, it can suppress the toxin."

Han Wuxian swallowed the pill, feeling the burning pain in his arm ease slightly. Yan Xirou also took one herself, and the wound on her shoulder began to stop bleeding.

"Look there." Han Wuxian pointed behind the bronze coffin: "There's a hidden door."

The two approached cautiously and discovered that behind the coffin there indeed was a concealed stone door, its surface etched with a complex star chart.

"We need to solve the puzzle..." Yan Xirou studied the star chart, "This is the 'Seven Star Lock' that was popular six hundred years ago; you must touch the star patterns in the correct order to open it."

Just as she was concentrating on solving it, Han Wuxian suddenly felt a palpitation: "Wait, something's coming!"

From the passageway came heavy footsteps and a piercing metallic dragging sound — not just one!

"It's other tomb guards!" Yan Xirou sped up her puzzle-solving: "At least three, we can't handle them!"

The footsteps drew nearer; Han Wuxian stood before the door, ready to fight to the death. Just as the first tomb guard's silhouette appeared at the passageway entrance, Yan Xirou finally pressed the last star.

"It's open!"

The stone door slid open silently; the two darted inside. Yan Xirou found a mechanism on the inner wall, and the stone door immediately shut, sealing out the tomb guards' roars.

The new passage was narrower and damper than before; an unknown liquid seeped from the walls, dripping onto the floor with a "hiss" of corrosion.

"Acid..." Han Wuxian shielded his feet with golden light: "This place is deadly everywhere."

Yan Xirou suddenly pointed ahead: "Light!"

Indeed, a faint light shone from the end of the passageway. The two quickened their steps and finally arrived at a circular stone chamber.

There was no other exit here, but an ancient book wrapped in azure light floated in the center.

"What is that?"

"Perhaps it's a cultivation technique practiced by Master Huang Song." Yan Xirou said: "It might be a method related to the Youming Jie; I've heard it called the Huangquan Scripture before."

"Too smooth..." Han Wuxian grew even more wary: "The final trap is often the deadliest."

As his words fell, the stone chamber suddenly shook violently; the floor began to sink, revealing a scalding magma pool below!

At the same time, countless sharp spears descended from the ceiling, sealing off the upper space.

"Jump!" Yan Xirou grabbed Han Wuxian's hand: "Trust me!"

The two leapt toward the central platform; just as they were about to fall into the magma, Yan Xirou whipped out a rope that wrapped around the stone pillar beneath the Huangquan Scripture, using the momentum to swing to safety.

The magma had already lapped at the platform's edge, the heat wave scorching. Han Wuxian looked at Yan Xirou: "What now?"

Yan Xirou stared at the Huangquan Scripture: "Only one chance."

She took out a jade box from her bosom: "I'll use the Object Control Technique to take the book; you handle the watch."

At the moment she cast the spell, a crimson giant serpent leapt from the magma, lunging straight at the two!

Han Wuxian was ready; a blade of golden light shot out, cleaving the giant serpent at the waist. But the severed body transformed into two smaller serpents, which continued the attack!

"Fire spirit taking form, endless to slash!" Han Wuxian launched successive attacks, but they only caused the serpents to multiply.

Yan Xirou's Object Control Technique had already seized the Huangquan Scripture, but the azure light surrounding the book resisted the pull. Beads of fine sweat appeared on her forehead: "Hold on for ten more breaths!"

The serpents had increased to eight; Han Wuxian's golden light began to falter. One serpent broke through his defense and sank its fangs deep into his thigh. Han Wuxian bellowed in pain, forcibly tearing it off, but the wound was already charred black.

"Got it!" Yan Xirou finally stored the Huangquan Scripture in the jade box.

As the book was taken, the entire stone chamber began to collapse. The magma churned violently, and a serpent ten times larger than before slowly rose.

"Run!"

The two rushed toward the only seemingly weak wall; Han Wuxian gathered all his spiritual power: "Break!"

A blast of golden light blew open a gap; outside was actually a cliff on the mountain's exterior! With the giant serpent lunging from behind, at the critical moment, Yan Xirou produced a silver talisman:

"Thousand-mile Divine Travel Talisman, activate!"

The talisman turned into silver light enveloping the two, instantly shooting out of the tomb. Behind them, the entire mountain peak collapsed with a roar, dust and smoke shooting skyward...

In the forest below the cliff, the silver light faded; the two tumbled to the ground in a sorry state. Han Wuxian was already half-unconscious, poison and burns putting him at death's door. Yan Xirou gritted her teeth, hoisted him onto her back, and gazed toward the distant mountain range faintly visible.

"Hold on... I'll take you to find someone who can detoxify..."

Her silhouette quickly vanished into the deep woods, leaving only the distant rumble of the tomb's collapse echoing through the valley...

Yan Xirou struggled through the Black Mist Forest with Han Wuxian on her back; the man's weight made each step sink into the mire, the toxic miasma corroded her wounds, and every breath felt like swallowing a red-hot coal. Han Wuxian's arm hung limp at her shoulder, the black toxin lines on his skin having spread to his neck, creeping like a spiderweb toward his cheeks.

"Hold on..." Yan Xirou gritted her teeth, adjusting her posture; Han Wuxian's head rested against her neck, his scorching breath brushing her ear, "We're almost there."

Three days after escaping from the Huang Song tomb, Han Wuxian's condition deteriorated sharply.

The venom of the Blood-Marrow Centipede overwhelmed even her detox pills. She had to abandon her original plan and head southeast to the legendary Youming Marsh, where a medical immortal capable of curing any poison dwelled.

"Water..." Han Wuxian weakly groaned on her back.

Yan Xirou halted her steps, carefully propping him against a withered tree. She took out a waterskin, lifted his head. Han Wuxian's lips were already purplish; most of the water dripped from the corners of his mouth, soaking his front.

"Han Wuxian, look at me." She slapped his cheeks, "Don't sleep; if you do, you won't wake up."

Han Wuxian's eyelids trembled as they lifted, his pupils already somewhat dilated. He struggled to focus, forcing a weak smile: "You... have... leaves... in your hair..."

Yan Xirou blinked, reaching to brush away the leaf that had somehow landed in her hair. At a time like this, he was still noticing such trivial details?

"Idiot." She muttered under her breath, yet felt her eyes heat up, "Just hold on half a day longer, and we'll reach the medical immortal."

Han Wuxian's gaze fell on her bleeding shoulder: "You... are wounded too..."

"I'm fine." Yan Xirou firmly cut him off, hoisting him back onto her back, "Conserve your strength; don't speak."

At the edge of the Black Mist Forest lay an endless marsh; gray-green toxic miasma flowed like a living thing above the mire. Several skeletons were half-buried in the sludge, their hollow eye sockets silently warning intruders.

Yan Xirou took out a cyan jade pendant from her bosom, one of the few items she had brought from the Huang Song tomb. The pendant emitted a faint glow in the toxic miasma, forming a small protective shield.

"Stay close to me." She whispered, even though she knew Han Wuxian was half-unconscious: "There's an illusion formation in the marsh; one misstep and you'll sink in."

She began to advance along a barely discernible path, her steps precisely landing on what looked like soft meadow but was actually firm ground. The marsh's creatures seemed to sense the intruders; from afar came an eerie rustling, like countless arthropods scurrying through the mire.

Suddenly, Han Wuxian began to violently convulse on her back.

"Han Wuxian!" Yan Xirou hastily put him down. The man's complexion had turned from pale to a horrible bluish-gray, black blood foam oozing from the corner of his mouth, his whole body muscles spasming continuously.

The poison has broken out!

Yan Xirou without hesitation slit her wrist and let her blood drip onto Han Wuxian's lips. Her blood had the temporary effect of suppressing all poisons, a special physique brought about by cultivating the Blood Dao technique. Han Wuxian's spasms eased slightly, but the situation remained critical.

"Hold on..." she hoisted him onto her back again, quickening her pace, "We're almost there..."